Toyota Out Smarts The SMART Car With New iQ

Squeezing our 6-foot-3 frame behind the thick, sporty steering wheel of the 2009 Toyota iQ, we immediately notice just how spacious the cabin feels. Only when you're standing outside the Toyota iQ do you realize how short it is, less than 10 feet long from the tip of the front bumper to the end of the back bumper.

Due to be unveiled at the 2008 Paris Auto Show on October 2, the 2009 Toyota iQ is a kind of four-passenger Smart car. It's so innovative in its concept, packaging and design that it might just become the new yardstick for small cars.

When we drove this vision of the future here in Japan, we couldn't help but think that the massive influence of Toyota will tip the balance in favor of minimalist cars like the iQ and make them mainstream transportation instead of high-fashion indulgence. When it goes on sale in Japan in mid-October and then Europe a couple months later, the 2009 Toyota iQ could become Japan's answer to the Fiat 500, the Smart Fortwo and Volkswagen up!



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kpaxx - 8/28/2008 11:24:00 AM

0 Boost

flame title!

Agent009 - 8/28/2008 11:37:49 AM

+2 Boost

dunno about that. Hey at least it was positive, and not about a German make!

Part of my 12 step program.

ThierryHenry14 - 8/28/2008 1:15:24 PM

-1 Boost

Why mention SMART if its not meant as flame bait?

0to60 - 8/28/2008 3:05:48 PM

+3 Boost

Great progress 009!

EnnNorak - 8/28/2008 6:40:00 PM

+2 Boost

Looks a lot better than Smart but I prefer German cars over Japanese cars mechanically.

w209w114 - 8/28/2008 1:32:58 PM

+2 Boost

SMART has had its car out in europe for many years now. And it has proven to be an excellent vehicle. I was looking at one the other day and was surprised to see it was made in France. Its unique and highly cutomizable and it manages to turn heads. The SMART is also as safe as a mid sized E-Class sedan thanks to its safety cell

The iQ looks like an even smaller Yaris, boring and lacking a unique identity. It hasnt been officially tested by auto journals or the NHTSA.

So did Toyota outsmart the SMART, NO. They simply copied, like they copy everything else. Toyota should be more worried about hyundai right now than anything else. This is nothing but flame baiting tactics from our fellow Spies.

johannas - 8/28/2008 2:17:15 PM

+6 Boost

I like the Smart too.
But I really don't think we can say it is as safe in a collision as an E-Class. Even in the NHTSA ratings, the larger car's scores are above and beyond what the Smart produces. ( safercar.gov )

speedmaster - 8/28/2008 2:08:54 PM

0 Boost

ThierryHenry14,

It isn't a flame bait because the word "IQ" is a direct play off the SMART name brand. In the USA, "IQ" equals = "Intelligence Quotient". It is very blatant what they are after. They want a city car. Why else did they debut it in European car shows last years with rainbow colors.

steve27t - 8/28/2008 4:46:02 PM

0 Boost

IQ mean the same anywhere English is spoken. Not just the USA. Not a very Smart comment.

E36er - 8/28/2008 2:33:21 PM

-1 Boost

Still on the fence with this Micro segment. It's great for city driving but that's about it. They really can't haul anything either. It's really not practical for families. I suspect there will be a backlash against these kind of vehicles just as soon as more hybrid cars come on line.

On a side; Toyota along with all the other Japanese car manufacturers (i.e. Daihatsu) have been making cars of this size for decades. It's really nothing new. If anything, the Germans copied the Japanese.

w209w114 - 8/28/2008 2:40:27 PM

+1 Boost

The original "Bubble Cars" Are from EUROPE and originated there in the 50s and 60s. The most famous is the BMW Isetta. Others include...

Citroen Prototype C
Fuldamobil
Heinkel Kabine
Messerschmitt KR175
Messerschmitt KR200
Messerschmitt TG500
Trojan
Velorex
Microcar

While Daihatsu and Toyota has been making these cars for decades the Europeans kicked off the trend half a century ago.

Im glad I could teach someone something new today.

E36er - 8/29/2008 2:06:00 PM

-1 Boost

Yes, but one needs to remember that these cars only came about as a stop gap measure to boost post War Germany's broken industry. Ask any respectable German and they will tell you that these cars were tin cans (as were the Japanese equivalents from Toyota). So, the German car companies stopped making them. The Smart car is the first Micro car to come out of Europe since the late 60's. The Japanese never stopped making them. Regardless, I will not buy into this segment. This phenomena is a temporary measure until we get more hybrid options.

atomicbri - 8/30/2008 9:22:22 AM

+1 Boost

I don't think Hybrids have anything to do with it. A Smart is great for crowded cities like NYC where I can park the thing ANYWHERE. I can even park it front in straight with the curb. How many cars can you do that with and not get a ticket?? Its sales may fall some in the US true, because the US is spread out and large. But I think it will still sell in bigger, congested cities where traffic is and parking is a nightmare. Hybrid has nothing to do with size...

chewy - 8/28/2008 2:44:36 PM

+3 Boost

The end of the article is right, the fuel economy isn't that great compared to some (regular) cars in Europe.

The 110 horsepower Golf gets the same fuel economy as the diesel iQ, if Edmunds got their specs right. I guess Toyota can't make a fuel efficient diesel at all.

steve27t - 8/28/2008 4:47:20 PM

-1 Boost

Joke right?

chewy - 8/28/2008 8:25:26 PM

+4 Boost

cause a V6 is really gonna fit in that tiny hood

QuantumMatrix - 8/29/2008 11:43:34 AM

+3 Boost

MT never ceases to amaze me with his stupidity.

He has to be a comedian because I don't believe someone that is critized as much as he is would stay on this site.

Give it up MT, are you really as dumb as you sound on this site?

atomicbri - 8/30/2008 9:24:21 AM

+2 Boost

I think he is here for the laugh factor. He knows he will get deboosted, he knows he will be commented on. He probably laughs as he types....

mpls - 8/28/2008 4:07:24 PM

-1 Boost

I followed a Smart today, looks crap from the back.. overtook it.. looks bad from the side, and then saw in in the rear mirrors.. again crap and dangerous..

steve27t - 8/28/2008 4:53:50 PM

+2 Boost

Whats funny about the people here trashing the safety factor of these micro cars, that are built with tons of technology and high strength "passenger cells"?

Answer....The good old American pick-up truck. Now theres a coffin on wheels. Safety cell technology?, side and curtain airbags?, ABS?, electronic stability? Brakes/Steering/Suspension? All circa 1910.

topneuro - 8/28/2008 5:15:27 PM

+6 Boost

Mini Cooper, Toyota iQ, Tata Nano, Subaru R1, Smart, all these small cars are 21st century versions of the 20th Century Fiat 500, Mini Cooper, Honda N600G, Renault 4, Dauphine, Le Car, Heinkel Kabine, Isseta, VW Bug, and others. Nobody copied anything only the need and profitable sales of such cars in the U.S. has resurfaced.

EnnNorak - 8/28/2008 6:42:48 PM

+3 Boost

topneuro, the Dauphine was the first new car I ever bought and I talked my way out of a speeding ticket on a divided toll road by claiming that the car's top speed is less than the speed they claimed I was clocked at.

atomicbri - 8/30/2008 9:29:46 AM

+1 Boost

LOL Awesome EnnNorak! Always good to get out of a ticket!

Agent63 - 8/28/2008 8:59:34 PM

0 Boost

There goes Toyota trying to copy SMART. Just look at the darn thing. It's SMART all over it except the front end.

Agent63 - 8/29/2008 8:53:25 AM

0 Boost

LOL.

I'm not surprised. It isn't Toyota's first time wanting to be something else.

atomicbri - 8/30/2008 9:41:06 AM

+1 Boost

Toyota makes good cars, they just make good cars that are copies of other vehicles on the market.

krackerhatesme - 8/30/2008 8:02:59 AM

+2 Boost

HYBRID - Prius - seems like eveyone wants this in thier line-up.
Small SUV - RAV4 - how many small SUV models were out there when the RAV4 started the small SUV?
QUALITY - Ford and Chevy likes to compare themselves to having TOYOTA Quality -check out thier commercials.
Car companies copy each other